Lyft, Waymo just teamed up on self-driving cars

Washington - Two key players in Silicon Valley's battle to define the
future of transportation are teaming up, taking aim at a common enemy.

Waymo, the self-driving division of Google's parent Alphabet,
and ride-hailing company Lyft are partnering to test driverless car technology,
the companies confirmed on Sunday.

Both companies face a bitter foe in Uber, and are seizing
the moment as their rival stumbles. Uber, which is valued privately by investors
at close to $70 billion, dwarfs Lyft in the ride-sharing arena, while Google is
neck-in-neck with Uber in a race to develop autonomous vehicles.

"We can confirm that we are partnering with Waymo to
safely and responsibly launch self-driving vehicle pilots," a Lyft
spokeswoman said in an email. "Waymo holds today's best self-driving
technology, and collaborating with them will accelerate our shared vision of
improving lives with the world's best transportation."

Waymo also confirmed the partnership, which was first
reported by the New York Times. "We're looking forward to working with
Lyft to explore new self-driving products that will make our roads safer and
transportation more accessible," a spokesman said in an emailed statement.
"Lyft's vision and commitment to improving the way cities move will help
Waymo's self-driving technology reach more people, in more places."

Uber has faced a series of ever-worsening setbacks that have
made the seemingly unstoppable juggernaut very vulnerable. The company is in a
legal battle with Waymo over the potential theft of trade secrets from Waymo's
self-driving car program. This week a district judge referred the case to
federal criminal prosecutors for investigation.

Meanwhile, Lyft has been benefiting from a wave of consumers
that have quit Uber in disgust following missteps during the Trump
administration's immigration ban, a sexual harassment scandal, and a leaked
video of Uber's chief executive cursing at a driver.

The deal appears to play off the assets each company brings
to the table. Lyft, which is privately valued at $7.5 billion, doesn't have the
resources to invest in self-driving car technology.

The company has said it is not going to attempt to do so.
But Lyft has a network of consumers that use the company's app. Waymo, which is
not consumer-facing, could benefit from that network as it races to bring the
technology to the public.